This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
“The future freaks me out,” admits singer-guitarist Joshua Cain on the first single from his band Motion City Soundtrack. Maybe that explains why this emo-pop Minneapolis fivesome spend so much of their time trying to merge the past with the present.
Like a slew of emo bands, they build their foundation on a solid bedrock of chiming guitars, hard-charging beats and passionate vocal chest-beating. And like a slew of pop bands, they decorate their tunes with freeze-dried synths, falsetto vocals, handclaps, kooky lyrics and hooky choruses reminiscent of a whole host of ’70s and ’80s icons (including The Cars and The Babys, to name just two). Smoosh ’em together into the 14 cuts on their debut album I Am The Movie and you have a curious and intriguing musical hybrid — a disc that melds the urgency and passion of Jimmy Eat World with the catchiness and playfulness of Weezer. That combination has enough potential to suggest Motion City Soundtrack have little to fear from tomorrow.
